Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to: an image forming apparatus such as a multifunctional digital machine, an image processing method for the image forming apparatus, and a recording medium with an image processing program being stored thereon.
Description of the Related Art
The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
The image forming apparatuses called as MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) which means multifunctional digital machines collectively having a plurality of functions such as copier function, printer function, and facsimile function, are capable of: receiving print data from an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer and printing it out according to specified conditions; and receiving facsimile data from the same and transmitting a facsimile to a specified address.
Usually, print or facsimile data to be received from an information processing apparatus is written in a page description language (PDL). When receiving print or facsimile data therefrom, such an image forming apparatus drops it to a spooler then converts to a bitmap image (this conversion operation is commonly referred to as “ripping”). And this image forming apparatus generates print or facsimile jobs based on the obtained image data then execute the jobs.
Whether it is print data or facsimile data, the image forming apparatus executes the same processing routine including: receiving data from an information processing apparatus; performing spooling; performing ripping; and generating jobs. And during the processing routine, there has been a problem due to a long ripping time as described below.
That is, the processor may be occupied for a long time with the task of ripping a large amount of facsimile data which is received from an information processing apparatus. This also means that the printer may be prohibited from printing out print data which is further received from an information processing apparatus, until the end of the ripping operation, even though the printer is in idle mode. This has been a problem with this image forming apparatus.
This problem is often caused by facsimile data which is received along with instructions for facsimile broadcast, because a cover letter may need to be addressed to multiple addresses according to the instructions.
Usually, facsimile jobs require a long processing time unlike print jobs; and the memory therefore may be too small for the processor to keep up with the task of generating new jobs because of a large amount of facsimile data from an information processing apparatus and so many facsimile jobs waiting in the queue. Also being occupied for a long time with the task of ripping the facsimile data, the processor may not be able to start other tasks so soon, resulting in that people are kept waiting for a long time to obtain their printouts from the printer.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-018378, there is a technology to reduce an amount of broadcast data including cover letters; and according to this technology, an information processing apparatus transmits only one message and as many cover letters as the number of multiple addresses to an image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus transmits this message along with a different cover letter depending on the address as a broadcast facsimile.
According to a technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H11-0154947, a broadcast job is divided into some groups so that the image forming apparatus can transmit a non-broadcast facsimile very soon by allowing it to slip in between such groups.
And according to a technology disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H07-177280, users upload cover letter files for the broadcast recipients to a server from client computers so that the server can transmit a broadcast facsimile with different cover letters depending on the recipient; and users upload their documents to a shared area of a facsimile server so that the facsimile server can transmit the uploaded documents as a broadcast facsimile at a predetermined time.
As is obvious from the publications above, these technologies, all which relate to an image forming apparatus performing processing on facsimile data from an information processing apparatus, do not provide a solution to the problem that a long ripping time due to a large amount of facsimile data received may lead to a long queuing time for print data further received after the facsimile data as described above.
Similar to this, there has been another problem that a large amount of print data received may lead to a long queuing time for facsimile data further received after the print data, which is still unsolved too.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. Indeed, certain features of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages, while still retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.